PREVALENCE OF DENTAL CARIES AMONG SCHOOL GOING CHILDREN TWELVE TO FIFTEEN YEARS OF PESHAWAR CITY

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of dental caries and to calculate the average DMFT score of school-going children (12-15 years). To compare age, gender and socioeconomic status with the DMFT score.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in school-going children aged 12-15 years Of Peshawar city (Hayatabad). The sample size was 500 students, which was calculated by WHO formula N=z2 x P (1 – P)/ d2. The inclusion criteria were students age 12-15 years, and only those schools offering matriculate system were included. All the schools offering the Cambridge system and students below 12 years and above 15 years were excluded.

Results: The results of the current study reveal that the prevalence of dental caries of school-going children 12-15 years was 71%. The average DMFT score of the sample was 2.61. Among the different age groups, 15 years old children had the highest DMFT score of 3.7. The DMFT score of females, i.e., 2.57, was found more than the DMFT of males, i.e., 1.77. The medium socioeconomic class showed the highest, i.e., DMFT scores i.e., 3.1. The data collected were analyzed and tested for significance using statistical software package, SPSS software for windows (version 19.0).

Conclusion: The study shows a very high prevalence of 71%, which was highest in 15-year-old children. Females were more affected than males. Children belonging to the middle and lower class were more affected than the children of the high socioeconomic group.